Global Care Extends Health Reach

The acquisition of Global Care Solutions (GCS) gives Microsoft’s Health Care Solutions Group an integrated hospital and clinical management product that is likely to play a major role in Microsoft’s healthcare strategy outside the United States.

Integrated Hospital Management

GCS, based in Bangkok, Thailand, initially developed its software for Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok, eventually building about 50 modules that cover patient intake, registration, scheduling, bed selection, order entry, pharmacy, radiology, inventory management, accounts payable, general ledger, and other aspects of hospital administration and management. The company has since sold the product to six other hospitals, including a three-hospital group in Singapore.

The software is built entirely on the Microsoft platform, including the .NET Framework, and uses a single SQL Server database for all modules, ensuring that patient data entered through any module is available through any other module. It is capable of handling high patient loads, Microsoft says: Bumrungrad, a privately owned hospital, sees more than 1.2 million patients from 190 countries each year, about one-third of them from outside Thailand.